"Nigdjezemska", "Koralina" I "Ocean Na Kraju Staze" Neila Gaimana
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Odrastanje i motiv nadnaravnog u romanima "Nigdjezemska", "Koralina" i "Ocean na kraju staze" Neila Gaimana Kompar, Marina Master's thesis / Diplomski rad 2017 Degree Grantor / Ustanova koja je dodijelila akademski / stručni stupanj: Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences / Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Filozofski fakultet Permanent link / Trajna poveznica: https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:142:033077 Rights / Prava: In copyright Download date / Datum preuzimanja: 2021-10-02 Repository / Repozitorij: FFOS-repository - Repository of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Osijek Sveučilište J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku Filozofski fakultet Diplomski studij engleskog jezika i književnosti (nastavnički smjer) i filozofije Marina Kompar Odrastanje i motiv nadnaravnog u romanima „Nigdjezemska“, „Koralina“ i „Ocean na kraju staze“ Neila Gaimana Diplomski rad doc. dr. sc. Ljubica Matek Osijek, 2017. Sveučilište J. J. Strossmayera u Osijeku Filozofski fakultet Diplomski studij engleskog jezika i književnosti (nastavnički smjer) i filozofije Marina Kompar Odrastanje i motiv nadnaravnog u romanima „Nigdjezemska“, „Koralina“ i „Ocean na kraju staze“ Neila Gaimana Diplomski rad Humanističke znanosti, filologija, teorija i povijest književnosti doc. dr. sc. Ljubica Matek Osijek, 2017. University of J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences MA Programme in English language and literature (Education Studies) and Philosophy Marina Kompar The Coming of Age and the Supernatural in Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Coraline, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane Master's Thesis Ljubica Matek, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Osijek, 2017 University of J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Department of English language and literature MA Programme in English language and literature (Education Studies) and Philosophy Marina Kompar The Coming of Age and the Supernatural in Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Coraline, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane Master's Thesis Humanities, Philology, Literary Theory and History Ljubica Matek, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Osijek, 2017 Abstract Although Neil Gaiman’s works differ quite distinctly from one another, certain themes represent a constant in his writings, which this paper aims to show on the example of three of his novels. In Coraline, Neverwhere, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (TOEL), among others, Gaiman explores the characters’ coming of age and aims to uncover their true identity through stories of innocence, magic, spirituality, and disruptions in reality. The protagonists of all three novels face challenges and go on quests of different nature: Coraline faces an evil duplicate of her own mother; Richard becomes an outcast from his own already disconnected life; and the Unnamed Narrator of TOEL returns to the place he grew up in only to remember his encounters with the supernatural. By overcoming their fears, Gaiman’s protagonists find strength hidden deep inside. Each of them come out as true heroes of their own lives, finding a resolution in the form of self-actualization. Keywords: coming of age, hero, quest, supernatural, Neil Gaiman, Coraline, Neverwhere, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2 1. Bildungsroman ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.1. The Novel of Self-Cultivation in Children’s and Young Adult Literature........................... 5 1.2. Self-Actualization as the Ultimate Reward .......................................................................... 7 2. The Re-Invented Fairy Tale – Self-actualization through the Supernatural ............................... 9 2.1. Coraline .............................................................................................................................. 11 2.1.1. The Uncanny ................................................................................................................ 11 2.1.2. Temptation and Loss of Identity .................................................................................. 13 2.1.3. Eyes and the Soul ......................................................................................................... 15 2.1.4. The Final Struggle and the Other Mother’s Demise .................................................... 17 2.2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane ...................................................................................... 19 2.2.1. Family Issues and the Clash with the Adult World ...................................................... 20 2.2.2. The Hempstock Family ................................................................................................ 23 2.2.3. Ursula Monkton and the Supernatural Struggle ........................................................... 26 2.2.4. Overcoming Fear and Temptation, and the Metaphysical Reward .............................. 28 2.3. Neverwhere ......................................................................................................................... 31 2.3.1. London Above and Below............................................................................................ 32 2.3.2. Richard Mayhew’s Fall down the Rabbit Hole ............................................................ 34 2.3.3. The Marquis and the Fallen Angel ............................................................................... 36 2.3.4. Ordeal, Death and Recreation of Identity..................................................................... 38 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 41 Works cited ................................................................................................................................... 42 1 “But everybody's bones are just holy branches Cast from trees to cut patterns in the world And in time we find some shelter, Spill our leaves, and then sleep in the earth (...) But for now we're adrift on the winds of discontent Trying to carve our place All in hopes we'll be something they want” (Radical Face, “Holy Branches”). Introduction This thesis discusses the coming of age through uncanny and supernatural situations that the protagonists of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Neverwhere go through due to both traumatic experiences, and the lack of love and understanding in their lives. The importance of a never-ending search for oneself, as well as the healing power of literature, is emphasised through the analysis of Gaiman’s three heroes. The opening chapter is dedicated to a brief overview of bildungsroman, the novel of formation that has its focus on self-cultivation, personal growth and physical, psychological, and moral changes within the characters in general. It is further on shown that with overcoming great difficulties and by getting to the ultimate reward, the heroes of the stories become self- actualized. They come out of the story deeply, irreversibly changed. The second part of the thesis consists of three chapters each of which focuses on a more detailed analysis of one of the novels. This part follows their protagonists through spiritual transformation brought on by life-threatening quests against mythical evil creatures. It gives insight into Gaiman’s transfigured world and its darkness, providing the perfect background to Coraline’s, the boy’s, and Richard Mayhew’s self-searching journeys. The character of Coraline is analysed through the loss of identity symbolized by the images of eyes and soul. The clash with the adult world that all three characters experience is extensively elaborated in the analysis of The Ocean 2 at the End of the Lane, while Neverwhere tackles questions of location and the possibility of self- actualization in adults. The concluding chapter recapitulates the importance of the coming of age novel and the power hidden within it. It argues against going through life blindly, that is with buttons instead of eyes, as Gaiman suggests in Coraline, and in favour of changing, re-forming, and becoming one’s true self. 3 1. Bildungsroman With the rapid development and growing popularity of the fantasy genre, it is not surprising that various combinations of genres appear in contemporary literature. One of the frequent contemporary hybrid genres is the fantasy bildungsroman. In his Modernist Studies and the Bildungsroman: A Historical Survey of Critical Trends Tobias Boes mentions several synonyms that have emerged over time: “novel of formation, the apprenticeship novel, or the novel of education”, and states that all of them “imply a stable and integrative end point to personal growth” (241). This thesis will attempt to identify the characteristics of bildungsroman present in Gaiman’s novels by focusing on the terms of “self-cultivation” (Bruford 1975) and “formation” as they best depict the processes that the characters in Coraline, Neverwhere, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane (TOEL) go through while searching for answers and experience. According to Boes, the term itself is “sometimes ... used so broadly that seemingly any novel might be subsumed by it” (230). A Russian literary critic, Mikhail Bakhtin, develops a theory of a combination of the novel of ordeal, such as the epics